COP29 Short-Term Action Group
Azerbaijan 2024
The COP29 Short-Term Action Group has been set up to enable coordinated civil society advocacy in the lead up to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.
Our Focus
The COP process represents the main climate change policy influencing mechanism as part of the UNFCCC. In recent years, there has been growing attention within COP processes to the intersection between climate change and health, including mental health. Health played a particularly central role in COP28 with a Health Day dedicated to health and a Ministerial Declaration on Climate & Health endorsed by more than 140 member states.
Mental health however remains unequally represented in this fora. For example, only 14 out of 55 ministerial interventions mentioned mental health as part of the Climate & Health Ministerial that took place at COP28. We want this to change. Mental health should receive the same amount of attention as physical health within climate discussions.
Our Convening
We have been bringing together a range of local and international stakeholders and GMHAN members in Azerbaijan to:
Coordinate advocacy activities.
Support members in their local advocacy.
Connect with members who worked on COP28 and are planning to work on COP30 to ensure continuity and learning.
Members and partners represented in this Group include:
"Young Leaders" Education, Training and Development Public Union
''Common Sense'' Youth Organization
Azerbaijan Capoeira Federation
Azerbaijan Social Work Public Union
The Doctors and Medical Students Public Union (Azerbaijan representatives at the International Federation of Medical Students Associations)
United for Global Mental Health
Environment, Climate Change and Mental Health Advocacy Briefs:
The Action Network has co-created and published important advocacy briefs focused on Environment, Mental Health and Wellbeing. They draw upon recommendations from esteemed organisations like the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These briefs provide a comprehensive overview of the current and projected impacts of climate change on mental health and outline practical measures that governments should undertake to address current and future mental health challenges. The briefs are currently being widely used by our members, with translations into French, Spanish and Portuguese, with more translations coming soon into Azerbaijani (to support advocacy ahead of COP29 in Azerbaijan) and simplified Chinese.
Recommended links:
Alessandro Massazza, United for Global Mental Health, Mental Health at COP28: What’s Next?
If you are interested in following this work, please first ensure you are a member of the Global Mental Health Action Network by Signing up here, and join the Environment Working Group. You can sign up to Working Groups here. This STAG is of particular interest to members in Azerbaijan.